


Look Into the Light

by Tassos



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Dark!Merlin, Humiliation, Hypnotism, M/M, Masturbation, Mind Control, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-15
Updated: 2014-02-15
Packaged: 2018-01-12 14:04:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1188000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tassos/pseuds/Tassos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an Albion where Merlin fights for Morgause in open war against Camelot, the capture of Prince Arthur is an opportunity to get information. Morgause orders Merlin to make Arthur theirs, mind, body, and soul, and Merlin has just the trick for getting Arthur to talk. In the process he wonders what else he can make Arthur do.</p><p>Mind control porn without plot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Look Into the Light

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chicago_ruth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chicago_ruth/gifts).
  * Translation into Русский available: [Смотри на свет](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5991265) by [Ardel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ardel/pseuds/Ardel)



> Happy birthday chicago_ruth! I hope this measures up.
> 
> Full content warnings at the end.

Merlin crouched on his heels in the cold dungeon cell. It was chilly and damp down here, the ancient flagstones seeping moisture, smelling of earth and soot from the torches in the hall. 

The cell Merlin was in didn't have its own torch. Instead, a ball of light he'd conjured illuminated the small space and the prisoner chained to the far wall. He'd been stripped of his armor down to his padded tunic and stockinged feet that were wet through. His hands were shackled to chains anchored to a ring above his head. His face was bruised where he'd been struck across the face, blood clotted at the corner of his lip, but his eyes bore into Merlin with the same intensity with which they had defied Morgause.

"Are you my next torturer then?" Prince Arthur asked. "You can tell Morgause I won't break."

Merlin didn't shift and didn't respond. He'd never met a prince before. Ladies sure, the odd lord, and if Cenred counted as a king, then one of those too. But never a prince. And he never thought in a thousand years he would ever encounter Prince Arthur of Camelot anywhere except a battlefield.

"Is your little trick meant to frighten me?" Prince Arthur nodded toward the orb of light by Merlin's shoulder. Merlin flexed his magic and the orb brightened, making the prince flinch and avert his eyes. It was pathetic, really, how without his armor and his armies, Arthur was just a boy afraid of a little light. He should be afraid. In Merlin's control it could be so much more.

Prince Arthur's bravado turned wary when his gaze returned to Merlin. "What do you want?" 

"Morgause wants me to question you."

"Nothing you do will make me talk."

Merlin finally let the corner of his mouth lift up in a sardonic smile. "You don't know a lot about magic, do you?"

"I know enough that your potions won't work on me."

Merlin, used to testing Morgause's boundaries, delicately pressed against Prince Arthur's aura and found the charms sewn into his clothing. He smirked, enjoying the way Arthur tried to hide his nervousness. His charms and blessings, done under protest of hedge witch and prince both, Merlin guessed, stood no chance against him. Little did. 

But even Merlin's power had limits, and Morgause's rather vague instructions to make Arthur Pendragon theirs, mind, body, and soul, would be no easy feat for Merlin's magic alone.

"I don't need potions," Merlin said. "You'll tell me on your own. We might even become friends."

Prince Arthur had enough royal dignity to splutter and protest, but Merlin didn't pay him any attention. He stood and unlocked the cell door from the outside, leaving the prince to stew until tomorrow.

* * *

The next day, Merlin ordered the prince moved to a new cell with clean rushes on the floor, a cot, and a proper chamber pot. He ordered the prince bathed, too, and given new clothes and an extra blanket.

The faint-scent of lavender water permeated the cell when he returned with Arthur's supper and two chairs hovering behind him. The prince didn't take his eyes off of them, not even after Merlin set them facing each other and invited him to sit. He did, hesitating as if it would fall to pieces beneath him.

Like the previous cell, this one only had a small window in the iron door to let in light, so Merlin's conjured orb of light that hovered over his shoulder. He watched the prince in silence, waiting to see if his bravado would return.

It did, in short order. "You should have given me all this as a reward," Prince Arthur said, gesturing to his new room. "I didn't tell you anything yet."

"If I have to see you everyday, I'd rather not have you smelling like a horse's ass," Merlin told him. 

"And you gave me a chair." Arthur shook his head. "You are the worst torturer I've ever seen."

Merlin lifted his hand. It looked empty and harmless, but as soon as he squeezed his fingers into a fist, Arthur stiffened, magically bound to his seat. "Am I?"

Arthur's eyes widened, his smug superiority wiped completely away. But when Merlin released his hold, the prince stared just as stubbornly back at him, his heart unchanged.

Merlin could take complete control of him. Dictate his actions, probably even get him to spill his secrets against his will. But such control over another being was consuming and would leave Merlin little power for other spells and little attention to spare while Arthur was under his power. And Morgause wanted him under complete control when they went into the field against Uther. 

"I don't want to hurt you," Merlin said. "I told you, we might become friends."

"We will never be friends." Arthur spat on the floor.

Merlin let the silence stretch out. He didn't disagree. While they sat glaring at each other, Merlin slowly shrank the light orb. First it was the size of a head, then the size of a cabbage, then the size of an apple, then the size of a walnut. As the orb shrank, so too did the light, until the cell was dim and murky, and Arthur's face was cast in shadow. The prince had noticed the change, of course, and as the minutes passed, he tired of staring at Merlin in favor of the ever shrinking light.

"Watch the light," Merlin whispered, letting it pulse in his grasp. The white shimmer faded into green then blue then deep purple before returning to white again, repeating in time with the pulses. "Watch the light," Merlin whispered again.

When Arthur tried to speak, Merlin hushed him, muting the words in a brush of air across Arthur's face.

"Watch the light," Merlin repeated.

Arthur did. There was nothing else to see in the near black cell, after all. Merlin's face was obscured, and he added a touch of forget-me to the air around himself, so all Arthur would even consider looking at was the slowly changing light. After many long slow minutes, Arthur's face stilled, and the flickering light reflected off of his eyes, which did not blink.

"Breathe easy," Merlin said, when Arthur's shoulders finally let go their tension. "Long slow breaths. Feel the air enter your lungs. Feel the air leave your body, with all your cares. Watch the light. Breathe easy."

Arthur inhaled deeply and exhaled long and slow. Merlin smiled to see it. No magical mind control needed here, and the knowledge filled him with the flush of power his magic never gave him. What was power, after all, without control, and what was control without the power to do something with it?

"That's right, Arthur. Breathe easy. Watch the light. When the colors turn, breathe with them and know that all is well. You are safe here." Merlin licked his lips to wet them. Arthur was completely relaxed, his face slack and mouth hanging open slightly. All that stubborn defiance gone. He would fall asleep in a heartbeat if Merlin told him to.

"Watch the light. Breathe easy. You are safe here with me. And only me. I want you to remember that. My name is Merlin, and I will keep you safe when you are in these walls with me. Breathe easy. Watch the light. That's right. When you hear my voice," Merlin kept his tone steady and gentle, "you will know that I am near. I will keep you safe in these walls."

"Safe," Arthur breathed the word as much as said it, and when he did Merlin felt a curl of pleasure at the fact that his voice alone had Arthur so completely in his grasp. It was more than he'd hoped on the first day, and the rush of it pooled in his belly, making his cock thick with it. Where was Arthur's defiance now?

"That's right. Watch the light," Merlin said, keeping his voice even. "My voice is all you need to know. Watch the light."

He let the orb pulse slower, the shadows deepening over Arthur's face. His eyelids fluttered; he was on the verge of sleep. Merlin repeated, "Watch the light," every few minutes, until Arthur's eyes were truly closed. "Sleep," he whispered. "Sleep, and take the sound of my voice into your dreams."

When Arthur's body fully relaxed, Merlin caught him with his magic before he fell, and moved him to the cot. He followed with the blanket, draping it over the sleeping prince, who had let go all his cares. Soon he would let go all his control to Merlin. Just for the sound of his voice.

Merlin pressed his hand over his own cock, felt it pulse with blood. It felt sweet, so sweet, and staring at Arthur's relaxed face Merlin knew this was only the beginning.

* * *

"Oh look, it's my idiot captor." Prince Arthur stood with his arms folded across his chest, looking as refreshed as any prisoner in a dungeon could under the circumstances. His beard was growing in, but it looked like he'd made a passable effort at washing up. He was back to glaring at Merlin as he came in, with all the energy of a well-rested man pent up in a cage.

Merlin ran his eyes over the rest of the cell, noting the rumpled cot and then calling the two chairs set agains the wall to the center of the room. Arthur tensed when they moved, but held his ground.

Merlin gestured for him to sit.

"Not going to force me with magic today?" Arthur sneered, remaining where he was.

"Please. Sit," Merlin said mildly. Immediately, Arthur let his arms fall, and his shoulders relaxed. He took a step forward, hesitated before taking the second, but with a huffy sigh, he sat. 

"You were absolute rubbish at interrogation yesterday. I'm quaking in fear at what you'll do to me today," he said.

"I thought we made excellent progress yesterday," Merlin said, studying Arthur. Despite his words, he was completely at ease in his seat, knees splayed wide and leaning back slightly.

Arthur let out a laugh. "I was so bored, I fell asleep."

"Yes," Merlin said, just as mildly as before. "I noticed." He set the orb light to a slight pulsing, so small it was barely noticeable. 

"You're not very bright, are you?"

"We captured a messenger from your company." 

Arthur froze at the news, his sarcasm fading from his face.

Morgause's net of ravens had flown in a flurry, tracking the young man until Cenred's men had chased him to ground. The message was on a sheet of parchment, but written in a code that the young man claimed not to know. After Morgause persuaded him to give up all the secrets of his village and the location of Arthur's men, crying for mercy, Merlin believed him.

Arthur's men were long gone into the forest by the time Cenred's men found their camp. But with the prince in custody and Uther's army on the move, Morgause wanted to know what it said.

"Was it your idea or your father's to fashion messages magic could not break?" Merlin asked.

At the sound of his voice, Arthur relaxed again, but this time he remained guarded.

"Mine," he said. "But I was not the one to fashion the code."

"But you know it."

"It changes and no doubt has changed again with my capture."

"Hm." Merlin couldn't tell if he was lying or not. He set the orb spinning, shifting the colors. Arthur's eyes flickered to the changing light, a crease forming between his eyebrows as if searching for a thought. "You can relax. It is only light," Merlin said.

"I'm not afraid of a little light."

Merlin stayed silent and watched as Arthur's attention fluttered between him and the orb, until his eyes were drawn to the light like a moth to a candle flame.

"You can relax. It is only light," Merlin repeated a minute later.

"I won't tell you anything," said Arthur, but his words were slow and distracted.

"Watch the light. You're safe with me in these walls," Merlin told him, repeating it as needed as Arthur's eyes slowly lost focus.

A quarter hour or even a half hour must have passed when Merlin judged Arthur to be calm and empty of his own thoughts. He stood from his chair and circled around behind the prince. Arthur didn't so much as twitch, his eyes still fastened to the orb hovering by Merlin's chair.

"Arthur Pendragon," Merlin murmured, trailing a hand along Arthur's shoulders. Arthur didn't seem to notice. "Raise your arms." 

Arthur did, without hesitation. He raised his hands above his head, elbows slightly bent, and when Merlin ran his hand from his shoulders to his fingertips, Arthur only sighed.

Merlin couldn't contain his broad grin as he clasped his fingers around the prince's wrists, without so much as an acknowledgement that this was at all out of the ordinary.

"Well done, Arthur," Merlin said. He could break Arthur's arms, if he wanted to. Crush his fingers so he could never wield a sword again. "Watch the light. Relax. You are safe here with me. You feel completely at ease because you know I will take care of you in these walls."

Merlin let go of one hand and brought the other down to rest in Arthur's lap. Then he returned to his own chair, scooting it closer. Arthur looked ridiculous with one had raised in the air and the other relaxed on his thigh. Arthur stared at the light over Merlin's shoulder, eyes glazed over, completely in the grip of Merlin's voice. When his eyelids drooped, Merlin repeated, "Watch the light. You are relaxed, but awake. Watch the light and listen to my voice. Remember, when you hear my voice you are safe in these walls."

"I'm safe," Arthur repeated, and the simple trust in his voice sent arousal straight to Merlin's cock. Arthur was becoming _his_.

"You have secrets, Arthur. Secrets I need you to tell me. You're safe with me. You know my voice. You trust my voice." Merlin took his hand and rubbed his thumb over the back of Arthur's fingers, back and forth. "Are you ready to tell me a secret, Arthur?"

"Secrets."

"Yes, secrets. The code you write to your father. What is the trick to your words?"

"Words."

"Yes. I'll read them to you and you tell me what they mean." Merlin pulled the parchment out of his coat pocket and unfolded it. "Watch the light Arthur." He cleared his throat and read the message that talked of thrushes and buying candle wax at the county fair -- a message any man might send to another in a neighboring village if either of them knew how to read and write.

It took coaxing, and Merlin had to hide the excitement in his voice, his thumb rubbing the back of Arthur's hand instead, but Arthur did indeed know the code in the message. It was more information than anyone yet had been able to glean from the correspondence between Camelot's knights and their king. And all won with a gentle voice and a ball of light.

Morgause favored forcing truth from foes with a magical hold around their throat or a flame held inches from their eyes. A man would say anything to save himself from pain held so close. When Merlin first joined the Old Religion's cause he'd stood by and listened to confessions and to news of their enemies won this way. He'd been charged with taking prisoners back to the dungeons, and it was as he led them back down to their cells, guiding them with his orb of light and a light touch on their minds to make them follow that he discovered the secret of the light and his voice. If the prisoner stared long enough at the light before they left the hall -- sometimes necessary if more than one sat waiting and Morgause had not finished with the next -- Merlin did not need to touch their minds with magic to make them obey. All he need do was suggest they trust him, and then they followed blindly.

But Arthur was the first he had ever tried this trick of light upon deliberately without him first being broken by Morgause. Listening as he spilled his father's secrets, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to speak of these things with one arm raised stupidly in the air, Merlin wondered what else he could tell the prince of Camelot to do.

Merlin still held his hand, absently stroking over the back of it with his thumb. Arthur's eyes were heavy, the lids drooping as the silence stretched out. Merlin relinquished the hand he held and stood again.

"You can lower your arm now," he said. "Put it in your lap."

Arthur lowered his raised arm and set it to rest on his thigh. Merlin circled around him once more. This time, he gently pushed on the back of Arthur's head, baring the nape of the prince's neck. His skin was smooth and soft under his hair, warm to Merlin's cold fingers. Merlin let them trail down the slope of his shoulders; Arthur let him, a tiny hitch of his breath the only sound he made. Merlin carded his fingers up through Arthur's hair, and tugged his head back, now baring his throat.

"What would you let me do to you?" Merlin bent close to whisper in Arthur's ear.

"Safe," Arthur said softly, and the single word made Merlin's cock stir and pulse. He had to take himself in hand, the fingers of his other hand clenching in Arthur's hair. Merlin could break his neck with one twist of his wrist, and here was Arthur, his sworn enemy, limp and trusting in his grasp.

Merlin cupped his erection through his trousers, his cock hard and wanting. He squeezed, willing himself to hold off, needing to see how he could draw this out. He looked over Arthur's shoulder where his hands lay docile in his lap.

"Arthur Pendragon," Merlin murmured in his ear. "Open your trousers."

"Trousers," said Arthur, a frown forming. He didn't move right away, a little bit of resistance creeping into his shoulders.

"Open your trousers," Merlin repeated, speaking louder but still gently. "Listen to my voice, Arthur. Remember, you are safe when you hear my voice. You are so safe you will obey my voice. Now relax. Look at the light. You are relaxed and safe with me."

For a moment, Merlin wasn't sure if his hold would keep. Arthur's head was still tilted back in Merlin's hand, frown still formed between his eyebrows -- but then Arthur let out a sigh, melting even further as his shoulders dropped, his hair tugging where it was wrapped around Merlin's fingers.

"Safe and relaxed," Merlin repeated, his own breath coming faster. "You will obey my voice because you are safe and relaxed. Untie your laces."

Arthur's hands began loosening the ties, and Merlin had to squeeze his own cock at the sight, gripping the base to keep himself from coming. He shuddered, his fingers tightening in Arthur's hair, eliciting another sigh from the prince that went straight to his balls.

"That's it. Good boy," Merlin breathed. "Now open your trousers."

Laces loosened, Arthur pushed the fabric down his hips.

"Pull out your cock."

Arthur slid his hand down inside, shifting his legs apart to make room and pulled out his cock. It flopped over the waistband, half hard.

"Stroke yourself," Merlin whispered.

Arthur took his cock in his hand and slid down the shaft, then up again and down. Merlin slid his own hand along his own cock as he watch Arthur's cock thicken at the attention. The tip flushed dark purple where it peeked out from under his foreskin, and Arthur started making little keening noises that made Merlin stroke himself faster.

"Good boy," he said, his own breath coming in pants now as his body flooded with desire, heady on the power his voice held over this prince. "Faster. Feel the pleasure build. You're pleasing yourself because of me, my voice. When you hear my voice, this is what you will think about, your cock hanging in the air, stroking yourself, fucking your hand." Merlin was close, he could feel his own pleasure building in his cock as he moved his hand faster and faster.

Arthur's hand sped up, too, the little noises from the back of his throat coming faster, pitiful noises that sounded of unquenched desire.

"You're a prince, but you come undone at my voice. All that you are feeling right now is because of me. Remember that, Arthur. When you hear my voice, you'll get hard. You'll want to pull out your cock, won't be able to stop thinking about it. You'll reach your hand down and touch yourself."

Merlin was so close now. Arthur was his in his hands, back arching, head pulling against Merlin's hand still in his hair, but never pulling away.

"All your pleasure belongs to me. Come, Arthur. Now."

With a grunt, Arthur stroked himself once more and came. White spunk pulsed from his cock and the sight of it, on his command, had Merlin's balls tightening and he was fucking his own hand in earnest. He had enough time to let go Arthur's hair before his intense pleasure made his eyes flutter, electricity shooting down his legs as he spilled his seed over the back of Arthur's shirt. Merlin felt his magic coil in response, drawing out the pleasure that washed through him. He'd never felt so good in his life.

* * *

Merlin returned to Arthur's cell before the prince awoke early the next morning. The night before, he'd let him drift to sleep and put him to bed with his clothing still covered in come. Arthur was his prisoner, and Merlin was no man-servant. He had his own bed to return to. But Merlin couldn't sleep, his mind turning over Arthur in his complete control. It made him smile and wonder what Arthur would remember in the morning.

When Arthur began to stir, Merlin cloaked himself in darkness and whispered a forget-me spell. He didn't want Arthur to notice him.

Arthur's nose twitched just before he opened his eyes, and he turned onto his side. He took in his cell, squinting at the torch Merlin had placed in the locked cage-sconce, as if unsure how it had gotten there. A few minutes passed before he sat up. The blanket slipped to Arthur's waist, and, right as he was pushing himself to his feet, he noticed the mess on his clothes.

"What?" Arthur said to himself, picking at the white stains in his shirt and his open trousers. His cock was soft and he hastily put it away. He glanced around his cell again, confused, eyes landing on the torch once more even as they glanced over Merlin without seeing him. Arthur had no memory of the previous day.

After relieving himself in the chamber pot, Arthur turned his back to the door and tried to clean up, but with no water it was a lost cause. When the morning guard came in with bread, Arthur crossed his arms over the worst of it and tried to stay in the darkest part of the cell. The guard, one of Cenred's dolts, didn't notice, but that didn't stop Arthur from shifting uncomfortably away when the guard moved closer.

Merlin grinned from his hiding spot. This would be fun later. Now, however, he had to report to Morgause.

* * *

Arthur had managed to clean himself up a bit more when Merlin returned that afternoon. His morning confusion had reverted to his more familiar arrogance.

"You again." Arthur shook his head, as if disappointed. "Each day you turn up, I am more and more reassured that my father will crush this little rebellion of yours. Morgause is an idiot if she thinks you're at all effective at getting information. What lies do you tell her that she keeps letting you come back?"

"No lies," Merlin said easily. Arthur stood across from him, arms crossed over his chest. He held himself close, but Merlin was looking for any sort of change and so caught his slight intake of breath through his nose. "I've told Morgause you've been very cooperative."

"You come, you blather, you leave, I go to sleep. Yes, I've been very cooperative." Arthur actually rolled his eyes at Merlin.

"Oh, that's not all we've done," Merlin grinned as he spoke, and this time he didn't even have to look for Arthur's reaction. The prince sucked in a surprised breath through his teeth. He shifted on his feet, widening his stance.

"I think I would have remembered anything else." Arthur casually dropped his arms and cupped himself through his trousers. Merlin's eyes widened.

"You told me a secret," said Merlin, dragging his eyes back to Arthur's face. Arthur frowned at him, unaware of what he was doing. He gave no sign that anything was out of the ordinary. "Today you'll tell me another one."

"I haven't told you anything," Arthur snorted. "You really think I'm that stupid to fall for your tricks?"

"Why don't you open your trousers and find out?"

"What? That makes no sense. Why would I open my trousers for you at all? You are by far the worst captor I have ever had." But Arthur's hands were acting of their own accord. The laces of his trousers came undone and while Arthur went on about how if this was the help Morgause had, his squire could take the castle, his hands were opening his laces and pulling out his cock.

Merlin put on a very serious listening face and sent out a tendril of his magic when Arthur's attention seemed to catch itself on what his hands were doing. But other than a few small nudges, Arthur was acting of his own accord. And this time he was completely awake.

Merlin's own arousal began to rise, but he held himself still, content this time to watch Arthur stroke himself. All he offered were simple truthful answers to Arthur's accusations. Each time he spoke, Arthur's eyelids fluttered and his hand moved faster.

It wasn't until Arthur began to pant, little moans bubbling his speech, that realization began to creep in, and this time Merlin didn't brush the awareness away.

"You're going to tell me another secret today," Merlin said gently.

Arthur's eyes widened and he looked at his hand striping his cock, trousers pushed halfway off his hips. His next moan twisted into distress, but he didn't stop. His hand moved faster.

Merlin felt his own power draw up with Arthur's growing horror. Another whine broke free from the prince's throat, trapped halfway between fear and bliss. It made Merlin's cock swell to hear it.

"Do you trust me, Arthur Pendragon?"

The agony on Arthur's face when he answered was beautiful. "Yes." And Arthur came.

When he was spent, he fell to his knees. It was all Merlin could do to not pull out his own cock and bring himself to completion on Arthur's bent head. Perhaps another time. His power and his voice had brought this arrogant prince to his feet. In shame, Arthur refused to raise his head. Merlin had never felt a victory so sweet.

"What did you do to me?" Arthur's voice was ragged.

Merlin grinned again, and it was not kind. "I made you mine."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Content: In the story, Merlin uses hypnosis to take control of Arthur. He forces him to masturbate and ties it to the sound of his voice. Arthur does not consent. There is no penetrative sex or sexual violence.


End file.
